Love of War
by mysterious advisor
Summary: Just who is this woman?... And why does she look so much like me?" the nun asked, her blue eyes staring at the old newspaper photo, showing a woman in her mid-twenties who was supposed to be the leader of the Hellsing Organization.
1. Into the Night

I don't own Hellsing - if I would, the OVAs would have not been delayed for so long -

Not quite animeverse, not quite mangaverse, not quite AU... somewhere in between... anyway, set after a german attack.

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When Walter had walked into the large office, his Lady's chair was turned around, so that no one entering could see her from the door. The sole evidence of her presence was the faint trail of smoke rising from behind the large chair. Walking to her seat and perfectly placing her normal cup of tea on the desk, next to the heap of papers which demanded her attention, the old butler noticed that her blue eyes were staring at the wet landscape behind the transparent windows. It was yet another rainy day in the England… For the entire time of Walter's presence next to her desk, Integra had not even noticed him, entrapped by the falling drops of cold water and the cloudy sky.

Who could possibly know what hidden thoughts filled her mind at moments like these? Perhaps not even the cold-blooded vampire hiding in the dungeons below could guess at the moment. After all, this day was like no other. The first one to be rather calm, after the latest period of madness caused by the insatiable Millennium Organization. Now, one year after their last battle, they had once again seemed to vanish from the face of Earth… only to return and start another war. That was without a doubt what everyone else in the manor thought.

Walter was just about to exit as graciously as ever, when his Master's voice suddenly stopped him.

"Are you feeling that?" her voice was raspy, as if she had barely awakened in the morning, yet it sounded as alert as ever.

"What is it, Milady?" the butler returned to the centre of the room.

"It feels like an… earthquake?" she questioned and stood up herself, her suit and pose as impeccable as ever. As if on queue, the cup of tea from her office began shaking loudly, along with the old wooden desk and all the bookshelves stuck to the walls. Alarmed, Integra glanced at Walter, only to find him completely surprised by the phenomenon and by something appearing behind her. She turned around and found the rainy day in a sudden darkness, as a huge zeppelin darkened the English sky. "How did they manage this?" she barked, angry at the sight and the understanding that their intelligence had been useless. "Alert the Geese at once!" she ordered, but her command was welcomed by complete silence. Turning to the old butler once more, she noticed that he had remained unmoved in the middle of the office, just staring at the windows, apparently incapable of doing anything else. Analysing him for a moment, she understood that it was not the shock that had caused his catatonia, but some kind of device… one that only the Millennium could have created.

Running from her office, she nearly jumped down the stairs towards the underground part of the manor. If they had got Walter, then the Geese would definitely be pointless. She failed to reach the dungeons, as her attention was captured by the effects of whatever had happened at the ground level. The Wild Geese, as well as the rest of the soldiers, were fallen on the hard floor, forming a trail of human bodies down to the garden window doors, which were widely opened. In the middle of the empty garden, a sole silhouette stood, staring up at the light ignited from within the large zeppelin.

Alarmed, Integra changed her path and ran outside, trying to make sense of what her female vampire servant was doing. Apparently, the same catatonia had entrapped her as well, for she remained still, despite her master's shouts and the two bloody wounds on her body, nearly drenching her entire uniform in blood.

"Seras! Listen to me! Call you master!" Integra made a desperate attempt, facing the female vampire and shaking her shoulders roughly. The only thing she received from the blonde girl was 

complete silence. Behind her, the zeppelin landed and allowed several figures to exit and intrude the unattended garden. Turning around, Integra tried spotting her enemies' faces, but found herself unable to, because of the blinding lights behind them.

"Don't worry, Fraulein!" the voice she despised brought back memories of war into her mind. All of a sudden, she felt as if her mind was dislocated from her body. The first instinct was to fall on the cold and wet ground below, but her body remained still, as if it were a puppet cautiously held by a puppeteer's strings. What a horrible feeling: to remain entrapped in your own body as an entity incapable of communicating with the outside world. She felt as if forced to view a movie she knew from the beginning she wouldn't enjoy. All of a sudden, her body, now drenched by the cold English rain, turned around and entered the manor, walking among the paralysed bodies of the Wild Geese among which was Seras' now as well: the only body to actually bleed, ironically enough. Without a sole emotion imprinted on her features, she entered the large house and resumed her original way, towards the dungeons below, where the residing beast had refused to move from for some reason.

Once she found herself in front of the ancient walls, her body entered the hall where his coffin was located, while her mind was desperately trying to gain access once more. Lifting the lid, her eyes finally found the creature they had been looking for since the beginning. He sat in the unusual bed, sleeping and looking almost human in the dim candlelight. But she knew better than that… and so did the entity currently residing inside her body. Still, why wasn't he waking up? Why wasn't he moving? Why wasn't he prepared to welcome her and mock her current appearance, not to mention guess all the possible (and wrong) reasons for which she was there? Why hadn't he noticed the upcoming danger?!

Why a calm of steel, the possessed body turned around and walked to a nearby table which was, curiously enough, filled with various silver-based weapons. Integra's mind froze at the understanding of all possibilities. Her body mechanically grabbed a silver steak and returned to the unsealed coffin. Against her will, her lips moving almost inaudibly, whispering Cromwell's name and the entire spell attached to it, while her cold hands moved above the vampire's silhouette, the stake ready to hit.

How could they be able to do this? How could the German gather their strength back so fast? How come they, of all people, were able to conduct such an attack?

"No!" it was the wrong word that ended the ancient spell and the vampire finally stirred from his deep slumber. Her body started shivering, as if it was ready to split in half and let another being surface from it's inside. Her right hand shook, gripping the stake with pale fingers. Below her, the vampire finally opened his eyes widely, coming across a situation he had never encountered before: the enemies had come too close and he had not sensed them, no one seemed to be alive anymore in the entire manor… and his master seemed to struggle against her own actions, although her intentions seemed to be more than clear.

"Integra?" he asked dumbly, still not grasping the entire situation. It was as if he had been drugged… except the fact that human drugs did not have any effects on vampires. Above him, Integra's blue eyes were filled with desperation and sadness: a stare he had never seen before. "Master, what are you doing?" he got up and she felt the entity inside attacking her own mind mercilessly. In less than a second, she backed up enough for him not to reach her and stabbed herself with the stake that had his name on it.

A moment later, she allowed herself to fall on the floor, only to be caught by her shocked servant. If not even he could understand what was going on, then perhaps this was indeed the end.

"Kill them!" apparently the entity inside her body had grown as tired as herself. Still, she managed to gain enough access to her own body in order speak… even if for a sole moment. "Do whatever you must… but finish them…" she spoke before blacking out. The last thing her eyes saw for a very long time was her servant's handsome figure contorted in a mask of anger, surprise and… could it be… perhaps even worry?

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This is the first chapters of many... so let me know if this story is worth updating or not, before I start writing and editing them. By the way, just so you know, the summary can be considered part of the second chapter.

Therefor, R&R please!


	2. The Canterbury Cathedral

Still don't own Hellsing

The first part of this chapter will somewhat be an explanation concerning what had happened. More details to come soon.

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When the German had begun their attack, three years prior to the actual moment, their aim had been to crush the Hellsing Organization, as well as their Catholic version: the Vatican's Iscariot section. And their plans had succeeded. Within weeks from their first attack, England and the rest of Europe stood defenceless in the way of an imminent war, as there was no one left to protect them against the terrors of night. In less than two months, Major Max Montana considered himself almost the ruler of the world, with no real threats to stay in his way to gain unlimited power… or torment the humanity with war after war… Blood flew continuously and people everywhere cried for help, but there was no one left to hear them. The Hellsing heiress had disappeared in the ruins of her own home, as the German gourmand had made sure of her ultimate defeat himself. All of her soldiers were gone, either dead or with their minds brainwashed by the Doc's device, and even her greatest weapon, the Hell's hound himself appeared to have vanished as well.

But then, fate struck even the faithless ones. The artificial vampires rebelled against their own creators. In a matter of months, the world was thrown in yet another crisis, as the abnormal creatures destroyed entire cities, taking whatever they wanted, whenever they desired it, as the sun was still covered by the German-made shield.

"I love war!" the mad German leader proclaimed in front of Berlin's entire population, who could now only see him and his group as sole defenders of humanity, ironically enough. The moment he finished his last word, the Major's head was flown towards the terrified audience, as his mechanical body was turned into ash by the rogue vampires… vampires which had been created from his very own order. The proud Millennium Organization, having passed from "public enemy" to "world saviour", was now gone, turning millions of humans into potential preys and ghouls.

Now they were unstoppable, with the world stuck in a never-ending night.

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"There you are!" the Mother Superior of the Canterbury Cathedral, now one of the last Protestant Sanctuaries still standing, nearly shouted at one of her nuns. Startled, the young woman clad in the traditional black and white outfit, turned towards her mentor and stood up from the stone bench she had been sitting on, bowing respectfully.

"Please forgive me, Mother Superior. I have lost track of time. I'm sorry. I shall return to my duties immediately." The young woman spoke hurriedly, her violet-blue eyes wide opened.

"Angelica, do not worry. I'm not here to scold you, although you keep breaking items while completing your chorus and you still are late for the prayers every morning. I only came here to ask you about your patient. Still no changes?" the old woman asked, although she knew what her answer would be. It was the same answer as ever: the strange, unknown woman under Angelica's care was still in a coma, as she had been for the past three years.

"No." Angelica saddened at once, lowering here eyes and staring at the cold marble below her feet. "At times, I think she'll never wake up again." Although she could not explain it, as she held no memories of her life prior to the "Incident", as some people named Millennium's devastating attack, she was obviously drawn to the unknown woman for some reason.

Three years earlier, the two had been found together somewhere near Kent. The younger one, now known as Sister Angelica, seemed to be in a state of shock, as well as partly catatonic; the other woman, whose name was yet to be discovered, was badly wounded and had already slipped into a deep coma. Although she had no proof, the Mother Superior was almost convinced that the two were connected somehow to the Hellsing Organization. Her only leads were an old newspaper photo showing a proud woman apparently named Integra Hellsing who somewhat resembled the sleeping woman, and Angelica's bizarre eyes, which seemed to turn almost reddish in full-moon nights. Still, none of her fears or hopes had ever come true, as the unknown patient in coma never awakened and the up-and-running youth did not use any of the wounded or even unharmed people as a food resource. Staring at the young nun, the Mother Superior sighed.

"I'm sure that she will return to us when the Lord will consider it appropriate." The older woman tried to calm the youth down, but the soothing words seemed to have little effect on her. "I'm sure that Evangeline will awaken." Mother Superior spoke the name all of the Cathedral's inhibitors now used when referring to the comatose woman, and noticed Angelica's almost instinctual flinch at the hearing of that name. Still, the woman needed one and, as she was not certain of her identity, she had come up with a name that could fit her quite angelic features. No one in that entire church, not even Angelica's more than unusual body features, could match the sleeping woman's slightly tanned skin, fair hair and bright blue eyes. Still, even in her continuous sleep, she looked troubled and tired… it was almost as if her body slept the time she had somehow missed before. "You may go back to your chorus, Sister Angelica."

The young nun bowed once more and walked away, towards the part of the compound where her patient was still trapped in a deep slumber. She had not managed to reach the inner courtyard's half, for a desperate scream echoed throughout the entire area: "Vampire!"

Angelica remained unmoved, eyeing the gates. There, in the middle of the opening stood a red-eyed monster that reeked of blood and meat, his face smudged with the red liquid and his eyes as wide as possible, from the mad rush of adrenaline in his brain. She knew how that felt… she knew and she hated it. Staring at the artificial vampire walking towards her, she instinctively began exposing her own teeth, as her canines began growing in a most bizarre manner. Only a tinge of red changed her normally blue eye colour, as her muscles were ready to have her run towards the intruder.

Still, before the nun could do anything, a single gunshot noise filled the tense air. A second later, the monster vanished, its body disintegrating before it could hit the sacred ground. Angelica came out of her trance and saw through the open gates a single soldier fighting off an entire group of monsters in the darkness, with unusually great success.

"Quickly, help that man! Make sure he manages to enter the church safely!" Mother Superior's voice rose above the rumour and several women, including Angelica, rushed to the gates.

"Angie! Get him in here and we'll shut the doors." One of her "sisters" shouted and she only nodded. Leaving the sacred ground for several seconds only, Angelica pulled out the sole weapon she was allowed to carry: an old revolver filled with very small sphere-shaped silver bullets, made from old rosaries and candle sticks within the Cathedral, in lack of any other resources. By now, the brave soldier had remained stuck in a puddle of mud and fell on the ground, almost immobilized by the heavy dirt clinging onto his clothes. The remaining vampires flew towards him, but were stopped in mid-air by the nun's perfect aim: two shots for two vampires… but unfortunately still not fast enough to stop them from calling reinforcements.

"Give me your hand!" she shouted in the darkness, one hand filled with the ancient gun and the other one extended towards the muddy man. Turning his head towards her, the man remained completely still for several moments, while staring at her in the dim light created by the remaining nightlights around the Cathedral's building. "Hurry!" her tone turned commanding and she tried leaning towards him even further. As if he finally returned to Earth from whatever higher realm he had just visited, he caught her hand and allowed her to help him out of the puddle. Together, they ran towards the now barely opened gates like mad, for behind them hell was unleashed once more. "Close the gates!" the young nun screamed once they were finally inside. The heavy and tall doors shut with a heavy thunk, allowing everyone inside to draw a deep breath. "Are you insane? Don't you know how dangerous it is to fight vampires on your own?" she finally snapped at the stranger, failing to notice his tired boyish smirk at first and the fact that they were still holding hands.

"Oh, my beautiful mademoiselle! Are you sure we have not met in a previous life?" his French accent sounded oddly familiar. "If I hadn't been so dirty, I'd bow in front of your beauty and kiss your hand… after which I'd take you to the farthest room in this palace and let you show me how Heaven feels like." The man, despite his obvious wounds and exhaustion, flirted with the young nun shamelessly. A hard slap echoed throughout the entire compound, as she freed her hand from his grasp and made him shut up.

"I swear you're never going to learn your lesson!" her tone turned angry, as her face turned as red as a tomato.

"No when it comes to you, my dear!" he smirked evilly and winked at her, while she just turned away and stamped off to her previous activities. Despite the fact that they had just met each other, the two seemed to have quite a history together. Noticing their rather heated discussion, the Mother Superior approached the young man.

"Please accept our hospitality as payment for your brave actions. Had it not been for you, we would have probably been dead now."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Madame." The man seemed to turn into a perfect gentleman, completely different from his earlier behaviour.

"Please allow me to escort you to a free room." She smiled and pointed to one of the buildings. "In the mean time, I would like to ask you several questions. Will that be alright with you?"

"Of course, Madame." The man answered and took off his cap, allowing an incredibly long reddish-blonde plait to fall down his back, past his waist. The soldier in front of her was no ordinary human, but the Mother Superior did her best at hiding her shock and fear at the same time.

"First of all, is there any chance of clearing several areas of these terrorists?" she turned serious and the man let out a heavy sigh.

"No… at least not in these conditions. I tried to cross the English Channel, see what remained of France… but I couldn't even get a glimpse of my homeland as we were attacked even in the middle of the sea. It's almost as if for every vampire we kill, they turn two more humans and kill other four. They're insatiable and unstoppable. Madame, if this goes on, humans will become extinct faster than we've anticipated it."

"But you're still fighting." She stopped in front of an opened door and ushered him inside a small bedroom, more comfortable than any other place he had spent his nights in the past years. Dropping his heavy bag pack on the wooden floor, he sighed again.

"When I woke up after the incident, I had no more memories. At first I didn't even know what was going on and I hated not being able to tell friend from foe. Among the personal items I had on me, there was this picture of me and a pretty large group of men… my team I presume. I managed to find some of them: either dead or dying. Very few still alive and even fewer eager to join me in this stupid crusade." He spoke sadly. "I'm still fighting for all those people who can't remember… for all those who forgot everything."

"And we are thankful." The Mother Superior smiled and bowed slightly. "Do you remember anything before the Incident?"

"Nothing. Not even my own tastes in food." He let out a goofy smile, as if to release some tension.

"Really? You seemed familiar with one of my nuns." She sent him a questioning glare.

"Ah, forgive me for that, Madame. I guess today I've discovered one more thing about my previous self: I like large-breasted women." The man shrugged.

"Be careful around Sister Angelica. She's a sweet-natured girl, but if you don't behave, you will face her wrath." The older woman advised. "Oh forgive me, we've talked about so many things, yet I forgot to ask you your name."

"I must admit that I am not sure of that myself. I pass by Jean Durand these days, but I'm sure that this is not my name. Therefore, please accept my apologies once with this pseudonym."

"No worries. Nearly all of us are in your shoes, sir. Still, are you sure you don't recognize Sister Angelica?"

"Madam, I must admit that I wish I had known her for a longer time, but the truth is as I've previously stated. Unfortunately, I haven't met your apprentice until half an hour ago, when she saved my life." He smiled, but failed to convince the older woman. Even though he had forgotten it, he definitely had a connection of sorts with Angie…

"Well then, thank you for your answers. I'll let you wash and sleep for now. Our meal schedule is well-established, but I'm sure that we can make an exception for our saviour. Good night, sir." She bid him farewell and left him alone. The interminable night was going got bring even more dangers, so every moment of calm and silence had to be fairly welcomed and used.

Several minutes later, the Mother Superior silently entered one of the rooms in the building which served as a hospital and stood in front the bed holding Canterbury Cathedral's most important secret: the woman who could be Integra Hellsing herself… the only living human capable of summoning a force that could outmatch the rogue vampires: the No-Life King himself.

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My mistake: that part of the summary didn't take place even in this chappie. Hopefully, I'll manage to integrate it soon enough. I'll just have to wait and see where my inspiration takes me. So far we have Pip and Seras - which is named Angelica for now, as you've noticed - next will probably be Walter, but I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, R&R please!


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